OP1528. IL TROVATORE, Live Performance, 14 April (not March, as stated), 1956, w.Cleva Cond. Zinka Milanov, Nell Rankin, Kurt Baum, Leonard Warren, Giorgio Tozzi, etc. (E.U.) 2-Walhall 0207. Specially priced. - 4035122652079

CRITIC REVIEWS:

“I will say emphatically that Milanov's Leonora in TROVATORE, among other roles she sang splendidly, was the peer of any soprano's in my experience. (Yes, my own included.....Milanov's was an amazingly beautiful voice.…In the end, she earned a place in operatic history and it was an Olympian one.”

- Rosa Ponselle



“In the dramatic Italian roles, the greatest soprano I ever sang with was Zinka Milanov.…Milanov had one of the greatest voices of this century…she had such power, such dramatic drive in her voice — and she had such pure top tones, including a pianissimo even on the high C, if she wanted.”

- Alexander Kipnis



“Milanov came like a bolt out of heaven—the voice and the young woman, both so vibrant and exciting. We knew something great had come into [the Met’s] Italian wing. What was not obvious at the beginning was that she would have such a staying power, for she gave so much in her singing.…I was present years later on her great anniversaries and she sang at mine [the fiftieth anniversary of his Met début, 1963]. She was incomparable. She was like a vocal sorceress singing the OTELLO arias that night. Such a roar went up from the public, I can never forget it.”

- Giovanni Martinelli



"Leonard Warren emerged as the principal baritone of the Met’s Italian wing in the early 1940s and remained so until his untimely death on the Met’s stage, 4 March, 1960, at the peak of his career. His smooth, velvety, and beautiful voice was powerful and had an unusually large range in its high register. It was easily and evenly produced, whether he sang softly or roared like a lion….Warren acted his roles primarily by vocal coloring, expressivity, and his excellent diction….his singing was unusually consistent….Warren’s legacy should be of interest to all lovers of great singing."

- Kurt Moses, AMERICAN RECORD GUIDE, Nov./Dec., 2006



"[Warren's] remarkable voice had a dramatic intensity which did not come naturally to him. As with everything else in his life, he worked at that until he got it right. Fortunately, his incomparable voice and dramatic power are still available to us on recordings of some of his most famous roles....[He] became one of the most famous and beloved operatic baritones in the world....Warren's flawless technique, seamless flow of sound, and brilliant top voice were his vocal trademarks and these qualities became the standard by which others would be measured, including me."

- Sherrill Milnes, AMERICAN ARIA, pp.76-77